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Best Banjo | Buying Guide : Things to consider while buying a Banjo

Whether you are looking to start playing a 5-String Banjo in Bluegrass style, Open Back Banjo in the Old Time, Frailing or Clawhammer style, 4-String Tenor Banjo in the Irish or Jazz style or a Plectrum Banjo for chord accompaniment and Jazz and other styles, Eagle Music will help you to make the right choice.

In this buying guide we’ll walk you through the basics of banjo history, various playing techniques, banjo types and their construction, and the resources that will help you get started playing banjo.

Banjo Construction Methods and Materials

As you can see from the above diagram, a lot of parts go into building a banjo. We’ll focus on the most significant components here.

Peghead/tuners: Also called the headstock or simply the head, the peghead is where the strings attach to the tuners. Deluxe banjos often have elaborately inlaid decorations on the peghead. The tuners, also called tuning pegs or tuning machines, may have planetary gears or be of the friction-peg type. Some players feel the planetary-gear tuners tend to be more reliable.

Neck/fingerboard: Most commonly made of maple, the neck usually contains a metal truss rod that allows adjustments to intonation and provides rigidity. Better-quality banjos usually have necks made with a single piece of wood while more affordable models may have a laminated neck made of several glued pieces. The fingerboard is glued to the neck and holds the frets that are pressed into place. Fingerboards are usually made of ebony on better-quality instruments, or maple. Higher-end banjos often have inlaid designs in the fretboard that serve as both decoration and position markers.

Nut: Made of bone, hard plastic, or wood, it’s mounted at the base of the peghead and has slots through which the strings are routed down the fretboard. It works in conjunction with the tailpiece to hold the strings in place.

Rim: The hoop that encircles the banjo’s body or “pot,” modern rims are usually made of multiple plies of maple or similar woods. Older banjos may have metal rims. Together with the tone ring, the rim has a significant influence on the volume and quality of the banjo’s sound.

Tone Ring: Positioned above the rim and below the head, it affects the banjo’s tonal range and dynamics.

Head/Bridge: Modern players mostly use mylar heads that resemble drumheads and are impervious to weather and humidity changes. A few players prefer calfskin for its mellower sound. When banjo strings are plucked, the vibration is transmitted through the bridge to the head, which in turn causes the rim and tone ring to vibrate, producing the banjo’s sound. The head’s thickness is another influence on the banjo’s overall tone. The bridge is made of wood and sits on the head. Similarly to violin bridges, the banjo bridge “floats,” held in place by the strings’ tension. The bridge’s height is one further element in creating the banjo’s tone with heavier, denser bridges generally producing a sweeter sound.

Resonator: As noted below, not all banjos are equipped with this metal plate that’s mounted to the back of the banjo and projects sound forward.

Tailpiece: It holds the strings in place and under tension. Ideally the tailpiece should be adjustable to tweak the sound of the instrument, and be vibration-resistant so as avoid adding ringing tones to the banjo’s output.

Assessing a Banjo’s Quality

Even a newbie can make some judgments about a prospective banjo.

Test the action by pressing down on each string along the length of the fingerboard. The strings should make contact with the frets easily without hurting your fingers.

Strum and pluck the strings individually and together. The sound should be pleasant and clear without buzzes or rattles.

Tuners should have their mechanisms enclosed and operate smoothly. On 5-string banjos, a geared 5th-string tuner is preferred by most players as friction-based tuning pegs may not hold their tune as well.

The presence of a tone ring indicates a better-quality instrument.

Modern Banjo Types

Today you’ll find 4-, 5- and 6-string banjos as well as less common forms like the 12-string and fretless banjos. That said, the modern successor to Sweeney’s 5-string banjo is by far the most popular type today.

There are both open-back and resonator-equipped versions of most of the more common banjo types. Resonator banjos have a plate that’s fastened to the back of the body, or the “pot” as it sometimes called. This resonator plate’s purpose is to help project the banjo’s sound forward, giving the instrument more volume and punch in ensemble settings. It is for this reason that most bluegrass musicians, as well as many other banjoists opt for resonator-equipped banjos.

Open-back banjos produce a softer, mellower sound and work well in quieter settings. Due to their less complex construction they weigh less and often cost less than their resonator-equipped counterparts. Open-back 5-string banjos are popular with fans of American old-time music, and are usually played using variations of the clawhammer technique.

Most banjo bodies today have a circular wood rim that surrounds the body and a tensioned head made of synthetic material that resembles a drumhead. Unlike older banjos with heads made of animal skins or membranes, these modern heads aren’t affected by temperature and humidity.

Today’s banjos usually have metal strings with the fourth string being wrapped in an alloy. Occasionally, nylon strings are used to produce a mellower sound.

Banjo tuners differ from the worm gear-based tuners typically found on guitars. They are usually of the planetary-gear type or are friction-type tuning pegs. One mark of a quality banjo is the smooth operation of its tuners allowing easy initial tuning of the strings and tuning stability when played.

Modern 5-String Banjos

Unlike other stringed instruments such as the guitar, the strings on a banjo don’t go from lowest to highest across the fingerboard. Instead, from low to high they follow this arrangement: fourth, third, second, first, and fifth. The fifth string, which produces a drone and is also called the “thumb string,” is attached to a tuner mounted on the neck at the fifth fret, making it three-quarters the length of the other full-length strings. It’s most often the same gauge as the first string.

Special fifth-string capos are available to alter the tuning of the drone string beyond the one or two semitones allowed by its tuner. There are many tunings used on 5-string banjos with open-G (G-B-G-B-D) being the most common one used in bluegrass. In old-time music, many tuning variations are used including double-C (G-C-G-C-D) and open-D (F#-D-F#-A-D). These tunings frequently are moved up a tone by either tuning the strings to the higher pitch or using a capo.

Modern 4-String, 6-String, and Hybrid Banjos

There are two forms of 4-string banjos: the plectrum and tenor. The plectrum is similar to a 5-string banjo, but lacks the drone string. Primarily played in dixieland bands, it’s strummed with a guitar pick. The tenor has a shorter scale and is popular with traditional Irish music players.

6-string banjos in various forms have been around since the mid-19th century. A popular hybrid variation of the 6-string is the guitar-tuned banjo. Because it is tuned like a guitar, it makes a great crossover instrument for guitarists while retaining the sound of a standard banjo.

There are handful of hybrid banjos that marry the characteristics of an electric guitar with those of a traditional banjo. Their bodies, which may resemble an electric guitar profile, are made of a solid piece of wood that contains a cutout area for the head and has electronic pickups to sense the heads vibrations. These electric banjos can be played using a standard guitar amplifier, and easily hold their sonic ground in amplified band contexts without feedback issues.

The banjolele is a hybrid instrument that offers the portability and easy learning curve of a ukulele with a sound that resembles a small banjo. With its 4 strings, shorter neck, and smaller diameter head, banjoleles are easy to play and integrate well in quieter acoustic ensembles.

Banjo Accessories

Well-chosen accessories for the banjo will enhance your playing experience and help to protect your investment. These include:

Banjo straps: This is a necessity if you plan to play standing up. There are many choices of materials and looks to suit your personal taste.

Banjo capo: This device clamps on the fingerboard allowing you to raise the overall pitch of the banjo so you can play songs in keys that are higher than those they were written in. This can be especially useful for singers whose vocal range is higher than the song’s usual key.

Banjo cases and gig bags: They protect your banjo from scrapes and scratches. A case or gig bag is pretty much essential if you plan to take your banjo on the road or to gigs.

Banjo strings: Sooner or later you’ll need to change your banjo’s strings. A fresh set can revive the tone of a banjo that seems to have lost its luster. Strings are made using various materials, each with their own tonal characteristics. Experimenting with several types can help you find a tone that’s more pleasing and brings out the type of sound you’re seeking.

Tuner: A good-quality tuner will make the process of tuning up your banjo much easier. Some models have a specific mode for tuning banjos that makes the process even simpler.